Rangers' Transfer Window: Full Rebuild Underway
Rangers’ transfer window is starting to look like a full rebuild on fast‑forward.
A new manager in Derek McInnes, a new captain in Lawrence Shankland, seven signings already through the door – and yet Ibrox still feels restless. With the Premiership kick-off looming and Europa League qualifiers on the horizon, the squad is being torn down and reassembled at pace, with as many exits looming as arrivals.
This is where Rangers stand on eight key transfer fronts.
Hjerto-Dahl chase turns into a full-blown auction
The name that won’t go away is Jens Hjerto-Dahl.
Rangers have been on the Tromso playmaker for months, lining him up as a central piece of McInnes’ midfield revamp. A £5.4m bid went in earlier this month. Tromso knocked it back. The 20-year-old has admitted he is “tempted” by the chance to play for Rangers, but temptation doesn’t pay Tromso’s bills.
Now the market has caught fire around him.
Cardiff City have pushed to the front with an offer close to £8m, while English Premier League newcomers Hull City are the latest club credited with serious interest. Tromso’s transfer chief Lars Petter Kræmer-Andressen insists there have been no fresh formal approaches, and Hjerto-Dahl remains with the squad for Thursday’s Conference League qualifier against Hradec Kralove.
For Rangers, the problem is clear: the longer this drags on, the more expensive it becomes. If they want him as the heartbeat of McInnes’ new-look midfield, they may need to move from admirers to aggressors very quickly.
Makhanya set to arrive as defensive shake-up gathers pace
At the back, McInnes is closing in on signing number eight.
Olwethu Makhanya, the unsettled South African defender at Philadelphia Union, is poised to join in a deal worth around £3.3m. The 22-year-old went AWOL from the MLS side after a move to Belgium was blocked, and Rangers have stepped into the gap.
McInnes has already confirmed he could be registered in time for the league opener away to Dundee United on Friday night. Makhanya, part of the Bafana Bafana squad at the World Cup but unused, fits the profile: young, athletic, with resale value and a point to prove.
His arrival, though, has consequences elsewhere.
Antman pushed towards the exit
Oliver Antman arrived from Go Ahead Eagles with a burst of early promise. It didn’t last.
The Finland winger never truly imposed himself at Ibrox last season and has slipped further down the pecking order under McInnes. Now he looks set to be one of the first significant departures of the new regime.
Anderlecht are driving a move worth upwards of £4m, with Derby County and FC Twente also circling. For Rangers, that kind of fee for a player who has failed to nail down a starting role is hard to ignore. For Antman, a fresh start in Belgium or back on the continent might be exactly what his career needs.
The sale would also unlock funds – and minutes – for wide reinforcements.
Markelo emerges as a loan solution out wide
One of those potential reinforcements is Jahnoah Markelo.
The 23-year-old Coventry City winger is on Rangers’ radar for a season-long loan, having first caught the eye at FC Zurich. His form in Switzerland earned him a £4.3m move to England a year ago, but he featured just six times as Frank Lampard’s side surged back to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.
Rangers are short of natural wingers as it is. If Antman goes, they become even lighter. Markelo, still raw but clearly talented, would represent a relatively low-risk way to add pace and direct running in wide areas while McInnes continues to reshape the squad.
Souttar’s future clouded by Godfrey arrival
In central defence, the dominoes are already wobbling.
The loan signing of England international Ben Godfrey from Atalanta has put John Souttar’s position under the spotlight. The Scotland centre-back only signed a new deal earlier this year, tying him to Ibrox for the coming season, but contracts don’t guarantee game time.
Now there is a queue forming down south.
Leicester City, Sheffield United and Swansea City are all interested in the 28-year-old. Leicester’s pitch comes with a family twist: Souttar’s younger brother Harry is already at the club. With Makhanya incoming and Godfrey in the building, Rangers have the numbers at centre-back to consider a sale if the price is right.
For Souttar, it could be the moment to decide whether he wants to fight for his place or take a leading role elsewhere.
McCausland eyes another move abroad
Ross McCausland is also edging towards the door, but on his own terms.
The winger, who spent time on loan at Aris in Cyprus last season, is keen on a return overseas rather than a drop into England’s lower leagues. There is early interest from clubs across Europe and MLS, and he is waiting to see which option solidifies and who is prepared to meet Rangers’ valuation.
League One sides in England have already asked the question, but that route doesn’t appeal. Luton Town sounded out Rangers too, yet have indicated they can neither pay a fee nor match his current wages. That makes it a non-starter.
McCausland has trained well under McInnes in pre-season and has a year left on his contract. The decision now is whether Rangers cash in while they can, or gamble on him forcing his way into the new manager’s plans.
Cozier-Duberry on the radar – but at a price
Amario Cozier-Duberry remains a name of interest, and a complicated one.
Rangers were linked with the Brighton winger earlier this year after his impressive loan spell at Bolton, where he helped them win promotion back to the Championship. At 21, with an Arsenal schooling behind him, he fits the modern recruitment blueprint.
The issue is the cost.
A permanent deal could climb as high as £5m, with Brighton expecting significant development and value from him in the coming years. For Rangers, who are already juggling bids, sales and wage trimming, that is a major outlay for a position they are trying to cover more economically with loans and targeted buys.
If other exits go through and the budget stretches, his name will stay in the conversation. Until then, it sits in the “ambitious” column.
Nobel Mendy and the one that got away?
One name from last year’s shortlist is now moving in a very different financial stratosphere.
Nobel Mendy, the Senegal international full-back once on Rangers’ radar before he left Real Betis for Rayo Vallecano, is the subject of a bid from Hull City. The Premier League new boys have reportedly tabled an offer in the region of £15.4m.
For Rangers, it’s a stark reminder of the market they are trying to operate in: identify players early, move decisively, and hope they blossom in Glasgow rather than somewhere else. Mendy has taken a different route, but his price tag underlines the kind of upside the club is chasing with targets like Hjerto-Dahl and Makhanya.
Rangers are heading into the new season with a new manager, a new captain and a squad still very much under construction. The next few weeks will decide whether this overhaul leaves McInnes with a coherent, competitive group – or a work in progress still missing its final pieces when the real games start to bite.
